


The Stars Will Change, And So Will We

by Mr_Lonely



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Found Family, Gen, M/M, Stargazing, a bit of introspection, immortal!andy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:54:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28249473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mr_Lonely/pseuds/Mr_Lonely
Summary: Nile didn't look up from her tablet as she announced, “There’s gonna be a ‘great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, the likes of which haven't been seen since 1623’ tomorrow.”
Relationships: Andy | Andromache of Scythia & Nile Freeman & Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani & Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29
Collections: The Old Guard Gift Exchange 2020





	The Stars Will Change, And So Will We

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rupzydaisy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rupzydaisy/gifts).



> Out of all the prompts, I picked "the old guard as family" and the recent conjunction inspired me!  
> I hope you like it!!

Nile didn't look up from her tablet as she announced, “There’s gonna be a ‘great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, the likes of which haven't been seen since 1623’ tomorrow.”

They were in a different safe house, a few days after a job. Andy was spread across the couch with her arm thrown over her eyes but Nile knew she wasn't asleep. Nicky was reading across the kitchen table from her, and Joe was eating a sandwich while leaning against the sink. 

It was nice, things getting to be somewhat normal. As important as it was that they all get used to each other for combat situations, Nile liked quiet moments like these. It was one thing to trust someone to cover your six, it was another to be able to sit in easy silence for a few hours and not feel the need to fill it with conversation.

“Was?” Andy mumbled from the couch. Joe thoughtfully chewed on his sandwich. 

“What's a conjunction, Nile?” Nicky asked.

Nile skimmed through the article. “Jupiter and Saturn are going to get really close together, so they'll be easier to photograph. I think.” She looked around at them. “Have you guys ever gone stargazing?”

“I have looked at the sky, yes.”

Nile rolled her eyes at Andy’s comment. “Like, with blankets and a hot drink and snacks? My brother liked to go, he took me once, before I got deployed. It was a lot of fun.”

“1623, you said?” Nicky turned to Joe. “What were we doing in that century?”

Joe thought for a moment, before sighing. “I can't think of specifics now, but give me some time, it might come back.”

Nile’s gaze darted between the three of them, before it drifted back to her tablet. They were in America now, so it was marginally easier for her to get around. “I found a place we could go, though I don't know if we’ll be able to see it from this continent.”

Surprisingly, it was Andy who said, “What the hell, couldn't hurt to try.”

\----------

One grocery stop later, Nile decided they had everything they needed. Blankets and pillows, some snacks and hot chocolate in a thermos were all crammed into the few bags they had. The car that came with this safe house was a bit bigger, thankfully, than the last one. Though, they were one person short… 

“I’m curious,” Nile said as she popped the trunk. “with the super healing and all, can you even get drunk?”

Andy loaded the bag into the car. “Yes, but it takes a lot of alcohol in a very short time and you do not speak nearly enough languages to put up with drunk Joe.”

“I simply tell what is in my heart, regardless of the medium of language,” Joe said, not at all insulted. 

Nicky looked at Joe with a mixture of fondness and exasperation. “His poetry is a language of itself.” 

Andy got into the driver’s seat without hesitation, with Joe in the passenger seat. Nile didn't mind being in the back with Nicky, but she asked anyway. “Why do you always drive, Andy?”

The car was silent for a moment before Joe snorted. Nicky spoke up next to her. “Some skills come easier than others.”

“I remember when automobiles were invented,” Joe turned around in his chair, smiling. “It was a lot harder to operate one than it looked.”

“If one of us didn't cause the first ever automobile collision, we came damn close,” Andy grunted as she started the engine and pulled out of the driveway. 

The drive was relatively quiet, until Joe asked Nile about a song he’d heard on the radio, so she hooked her phone up to the aux (she was surprised the car even  _ had _ one, the thing was ancient). One song turned into two as she queued more requests, anything from classical to 80s to early country music (she hadn't pegged Andy for being a fan of Johnny Cash but hey, that wasn't the weirdest thing about her.)

Nile liked traveling, but she was still a homebody at heart. Traveling was fun when you got to come back and be with your family. She looked around the car, half listening to the conversation fizzing around the car. For the most part, they tried to keep it to English but everyone slipped up (mostly Nicky, second most was Andy). 

They were her friends now. With time, she would call them family.

\----

There were a few other cars on the mountain, but Nicky pointed out a free spot away from everyone else that Andy parked in.

“Alright Nile,” Andy said as she turned off the car. “What's the plan?”

A surprisingly short time later, they had assembled all the blankets and pillows on the roof of the car (it was flatter than they expected, which was nice) and Andy, Nicky, and Joe fell into an organized heap that really showed how long they’d been around each other. 

Joe was leaning back, propped up with a few pillows. Nicky was between his bent legs, back to Joe’s chest and legs extended. Andy had her head in Nicky’s lap. 

The night was cool, not too cold but cold enough to justify jackets and blankets. Nile relished the warmth from the thermos as she passed out cups full of hot chocolate and received three ‘thank yous’ in three different languages. 

The stars were incredibly bright, and for once Nile wished she could recognize the constellations she’d learned in middle school.

“Do you guys recognize any constellations?”

“A bunch,” Andy snorted, “Not all of them are part of the 88 IAU.”

“It is sometimes incredible, but mostly sad, to think about,” Joe mused. “That even something that seems as constant as the stars can change. In little ways, not nearly enough to recognize in one lifetime, but after a few…”

Nile felt the panic at the thought of living for thousands of years, and didn't like that it was becoming a familiar feeling. It wasn't as sharp as it had been before.

She looked down when she felt someone take her hand. Andy didn't take her eyes off the stars, but pulled Nile towards them. “C'mon, kid, join the pile.”

It turns out they couldn't see the conjunction from their car, or even their state, but that was fine. Just like in the car with music, Andy started with a story about one constellation, then Joe jumped in and then Nicky, then Nile (from what she remembered). 

She found her place in the cuddle pile, head on Andy’s stomach, bouncing as they all laughed at one of Joe’s jokes. 

As the night went on and they all absorbed warmth from each other, the future didn't seem so scary after all. They had each other, and they’d be okay. 

  
  



End file.
